Chicago Med – End of the Day, Anything Can Happen – Review

Well our Chicago Med writers have done it again with another wonderful set of storylines, weaving together complex medicine with personal and professional relationships, and introducing new stories intertwined with ongoing plots that keep us on the edge of our seats yet again for another week.

Dr. Scott, Stefan, Milena and Nikola Corluka

Stefan approaches Dr. Scott outside of the ED and tells him he is doing well and is hoping he could help his boss. Dylan tells him he caught his case by chance but he is a pediatrician and Stefan says even better as it is his boss’s daughter who is ill. He says that his boss can bring her into the ED and he will see her but Stefan says his boss does not work like that. Milena and another man get out of a waiting car and Dr. Scott says “Oh I get it, house call, OK”. Dylan wants text his boss to tell them he will be late and they say he can call from the car.

Stefan introduces Dylan to his boss, Nikola Corluka, and Nikola introduces him to his wife Lena and his daughter Eva. He examines the little girl, and he tells them he believes it is her appendix, and Nikola wants her treated at the house, but Dylan explains he is not a surgeon and they need to go to the hospital and Lena agrees. Nikola says he wants the best surgeon and that he does not want Dr. Scott to leave their side.

Dr. Scott waits with them and keeps them updated with her surgery, and he sees how mean Nikola is to Milena. Lena is praying for Eva and tells Dylan she had a medical scare after she was born but she was fine, and so she wants to pray she comes through this as well as that time.

Eva wakes up and asks for her ice cream with sprinkles and Dr. Scott says how about they start with a popsicle, and they are discussing that the operation went smoothly and she should be back to normal next week. Nikola is telling her he is proud of how brave she was when suddenly Eva stops breathing and they have to intubate her and Dylan works quickly under the watchful eye of Nikola to figure out what is wrong.

Dr. Scott runs many additional tests but all the results are normal. Eva begins to breathe on her own again, and Nikola is angry as they do not know why this happened. He asks Lena for more details about Eva’s health scare when she was little and she tells him that her SIDS alarm went off, but a doctor came to the house to check her out and everything was fine. Dylan asks to run an additional genetic test that reveals that Eva has Congenital Hypoventilation Syndrome, which causes her brain to forget to tell her body how often and how deeply to breathe. He tells them this is why her alarm went off as a baby and he recommends a CPAP for her when she sleeps, but says the case is mild. Nikola thanks him for all he has done.

Later, Dylan and Milena speak outside the hospital and after they part ways, we see that one of Nikola’s men was spying on them. Could this mean danger for Milena or that she has been made as a cop? Hopefully we will find out next week.

Dr. Marcel, Dr. Blake, Celeste and Zeke Belkin

Crockett is getting his coffee at the stand outside when a car come screeching up and a woman exits and asks for help with her grandson. Crockett call for a stretcher and examines the boy. His grandmother tells Dr. Marcel that he has autoimmune hepatitis, and this morning he woke up even more ill than he has been. She says she has been to all of the hospitals and they are his last hope and to please help him.

Zeke is in full liver failure and is status 1A for a transplant, and his grandmother wants to try to donate a portion of her liver but she is overweight and type 2 diabetic, but his grandmother says she has been eating well and losing weight and she asks them to do the screening again and Dr. Marcel agrees. Dr. Blake is unsure that he should have told her he would run the screening again, but he tells her that Celeste realizes she is likely Zeke’s only chance of getting a liver and so he has to check and try to help.

Celeste’s tests come back improved but her numbers are not ideal, and Dr. Blake says they need approval pre-op from internal medicine and cardiology but that they will consider her for donation surgery. Dr. Blake warns her though that the surgery has not gotten any simpler, and that the situation can be life threatening, but Celeste says whatever consent she needs, she has it.

Dr. Marcel goes to explain things to Zeke and he tells Crockett that he doesn’t think he can do this as his parents died of COVID and he thinks that he gave it to them because he couldn’t be vaccinated and now he is putting his grandmother’s life in danger, but he also does not want to die. Crockett consoles him and tries to provide some reassurance.

As they scrub, Dr. Blake says Crockett seems quite and he tells her how afraid Zeke is about losing his grandmother, and Pamela stops him and says bringing Zeke’s feelings into the OR with him is not helpful as Celeste’s surgery is risky enough, and they should concentrate on the surgery ahead.

Celeste’s hepatic vein is not cooperating during the surgery, and Dr. Marcel and Dr. Blake work hard to suture the vessel together and make sure that she does not lose too much blood. After getting to the recovery room she starts to crash and her drains are filling and they realize she is bleeding internally and they have to take her back to the OR.

Back in the OR the hepatic vein is fine but a clip came off, and Dr. Blake goes to replace it and then hesitates and asks Dr. Marcel to place the clip. After the OR, Blake is very upset that she did not feel that the clip had not engaged. Crockett apologizes as he says he feels he distracted her by his concerns about Zeke, and Pamela gets very upset and says “It is not all about you Crockett”.

Dr. Marcel goes in to see Celeste after the surgery and she thanks him for taking a chance on her, and also to pass on her thanks to Dr. Blake. Crockett is puzzled that she has not come by and says he will pass on Celeste’s thanks. He goes to find her in her office and she is concerned as she is having an issue with her hand and that she has no strength in her hand right now. Dr. Marcel consoles her and says they will figure it out.

Dr. Choi, Dr. Charles, Dr. Archer and Miles and Anya Henderson

Dr. Choi is struggling with the information he found out about his father and who he really was, and Dr. Charles points out that the two men Ethan sees (the strict Navy man and the man who was in love with Gerald) do not need to be mutually exclusive. Daniel asks if he spoke to his family and Ethan says his sister clearly does not know and he does not even know how to approach the topic with his mother.

Dr. Choi is speaking with Dr. Archer and then they go in to speak to Mr. Henderson, and his daughter Anya. They were in a race when he fell, and Dr. Choi says he will get an xray of his arm but it is likely a sprain, and Mr. Henderson says he did not hit his head.

Dr. Choi comes in to let him know the x-ray is okay, and that his cholesterol is a little high but nothing to worry about and just have it followed up by his own doctor. He tries to read the café menu on his daughter phone and seems to be having difficulty seeing it, and asks his daughter for his glasses, but still seems to be having difficulty reading the phone so Dr. Choi examines him a bit closer. He says there is some swelling behind his right eye and wants to get an MRI to be thorough.

The MRI shows he has optical neuritis, which will respond to treatment, but the changes on his MRI combined with the neuritis are consistent with MS and Dr. Choi and Dr. Archer break the bad news. He tells them they are not to tell his daughter. Dr. Choi feels he should tell her but he refuses, and Ethan discusses his concerns with this with Dr. Charles at the desk. When the daughter asks Ethan about her dad, he says he cannot give out any info, but gives her info to “help her dad” to set up electronic access of his file.

Dr. Choi then tells Dr. Archer that he can keep the Chief job. When Mr. Henderson is leaving, he is upset that Ethan told Anya what was going on. He says that because of what Ethan did, his daughter is now not accepting her great job offer in Seattle. He is angry and says Ethan had no right and he did not know all the details. Afterwards, Dr. Archer tells him maybe it was a good call to give up being Chief.

Later at a bar, Ethan tells Daniel what happened, and they discuss that at least things are out in the open right now, and that perhaps he will still be able to convince her to take the job in Seattle. Dr. Charles discusses Ethan’s recent experience with his dad and helps him work through what he thinks his dad’s reasons were to withhold information from him. It is wonderful to see these two supporting each other again like they did when Dr. Charles helped Ethan with his PTSD. Hopefully they will create another great team in the ED.

Dr. Halstead, Dr. Taylor and Dorian Harwell

Dr. Halstead is examining Dorian, who says he is not just tired but utterly exhausted all the time, and he feels sore and stiff. He says it has been going on for a few months but he finally dragged himself in to see what is going on because he heard Maggie worked there and so even though he hates hospitals he figured he would give Med the benefit of the doubt. He says he has not seen her since high school, and Will says he can tell her he is here but she is with a patient upstairs and he says no, and that he doesn’t want to bother her.

When they return with his test results, Dorian is eating trail mix and Vanessa says she likes to eat that too. He says he mostly eats the nuts and chocolate because he is allergic to grapes and apples and Vanessa says she is allergic to those things too. Will lets him know that all his tests came back normal, and they don’t have any answers for him, and he says he should have known because he has a headache that started and that usually means bad news is coming. Vanessa says there are a few more tests they can run, and Dr. Halstead agrees with Vanessa to get an LP and an MRI.

When Maggie returns to the department, Vanessa tells her that she knows her patient and that he has a Grade 1 Glioma but his prognosis is good, and asks her if he is her father. Maggie says no, and Vanessa inquires as to if Maggie could connect with him as she would like to know him. Maggie says they agreed a long time ago not to contact her, and that she does not even know how to find him, but when Vanessa seems very disappointed she says she will try.

Dr. Asher, Maggie and Morgan and Jesse

A woman comes in in active labour and Maggie and Hannah go in to examine her. Her name is Morgan and her husband Jesse is at her side, nervously timing contractions. She is 37 weeks pregnant and her vital signs and the babies heart rate are good and her water has not broken yet. She is 5cm dilated and they move up to the Delivery Room. Maggie is midwife and offers to stay and help.

In the delivery room, Morgan is struggling and wants an epidural but Dr. Asher says she is to deep into labor. Baby’s shoulders are stuck and Maggie and Dr. Asher help to deliver baby. The baby is a boy and is very big.

His birthweight is a new hospital record at 11lbs and 9oz. They talk about how dates and measurements were so off, and that it is not an exact science.

Goodwin, Will and Peter Kalmick

At the beginning of the episode, Hannah and Will are getting coffee and Matt Cooper comes in. He speaks to them and says he is having a checkup to make sure he is in prime shape for the trial, and congratulates Will for the building he bought.

Goodwin and Peter help Will prep for being questioned in court and Will is frustrated that he could say the wrong thing and possibly blow the case. Peter says that he will keep helping him prepare and be the jerk lawyer, and that at least he got an apartment building out of all this.

Goodwin approaches Will later to ask him to come by again for more prep and to tell him she really appreciates all he has done and that he is a good man who always steps up. Will thanks her and also tells her it seems that the takeaway for most people is that he has an apartment building now, and she says to ignore them.

When he returns to the lounge, Hannah is still looking for an apartment and Will offers her the one unit that is almost livable in his building but advises her he lives across the hall so they will be neighbors. It is lovely to see this new budding friendship between these characters after what we have seen between them before. It looks like Goodwin is right, and Will is a good man who always steps up and does the right thing.

What did you think of this episode of Chicago Med? Share your thoughts in the comments below.